Truths and Lies
by Star Vortex
Summary: Who was Steele, really? Why was he so evil? Was he really greedy and power-hungry at heart? How did it begin? Story takes place after the movie after Steele is driven out. Steele falls and injures himself, then wakes up somewhere unfamiliar. Please R&R!
1. Ravine

_Please R&R! I spent a whole day on this!_

* * *

The snowstorm was getting heavier. The black and white husky could hardly see an inch in front of his nose. He put his head down and leaned into the wind, thrusting his shoulders into it. He walked forward as fast as the storm would allow, paws sinking into foot-deep snow. His water-soaked feet felt numb, and the husky suspected that he would get frostbite before he found somewhere to rest.

A roar ripped through the air behind him. The dog froze. He turned his head. A massive black form was leering at him from not five feet away. The shape was unmistakable. Proud as the dog was, even he knew when odds were impossible. The bear roared again. The husky's heart sped up. Blood pounded through his ears. At the bear's third roar, the dog's body flung itself into action. The husky ran forward, blind to where he was going. But, he found it more comforting to hurl himself into the unknown than going backwards into death. The bear pursued him. The husky ran faster, muscled burning as he fought against the wind. The bear was catching up, its greater strength allowing it to move faster. The storm just began to lighten, and the husky could begin to see vague shapes in front of him. He yelped in surprise as his paws slid out across an iced-over river. The bear jumped after him. The dog skidded in an arc, claws scrabbling at the slippery surface. His rough paw pads caught, and the dog managed to slither to his feet. The bear had no need to do such; it hadn't fallen down. The husky bolted forward down the river, cut paws leaving bloody prints'

_Great, just what I need, _the husky thought bitterly, _a scent trail for him to follow._

The husky continued to run, the bear hot on his heels. He could still hardly see, and grunted in shock as the ice sloped downwards. It wasn't a cliff, but it was where the river would have gone downhill. The ice suddenly got bumpier. He quailed as he saw rocks up ahead, but he was sliding too fast to stop. He leaned hard to his right, dodging a boulder. His muscles were aching, but fear gave him new energy as he sped down frozen rapids. He kept going over what he had been told time after time.

_Strong as your namesake, strong as your namesake, STRONG AS YOUR NAMESAKE!_

Up ahead, past the rapids, a tree had fallen right in the dog's path. He bunched up his leg tendons. He leaped. A lone elk at the side of the river watched in astonishment as the dog cleared a tree that was ten times his height. The dog landed, and kept running. Just heartbeats later, the tree shattered, and a bear splintered through as if it wasn't there.

The dog swerved to the bank and took off into the trees. The snow was less thick here, but the forest was swamped in a heavy fog. The bear loped after him.

The dog was going faster that he ever had in his life. He dodged trees steps before colliding. It was like a videogame, where one wrong move will turn you into a bloody pulp. The husky dodged tree after tree. The bear kept following him. Suddenly, the ursus changed course and disappeared. The dog didn't even smirk. He kept running, even though he knew there was no danger. Maybe, if he ran fast and long enough, he could leave the past and co. behind. He closed his eyes. Flashes of his life showed themselves under his lids.

_Jenna, red fur sparkling in the wind._

_Gathered around a fire with friends, listening to stories._

_Balto, the half-breed, returning all covered in glory._

_And, the worst, his father, sneering at him as a pup, face muscles rippling in scorn for his own son,_

The husky didn't notice tears leaking down his cheeks, freezing before being ripped away by the wind.

He didn't see the canyon until it was too late.


	2. Guilty

He hurt. He hurt more than he ever had in his life. His sides were on fire. His legs felt like they were encased in wet ice. His head was throbbing. How could he ever survive this? Is this what heaven was really like? Or had he perhaps gone to hell? He probably deserved it, for his evil deed. What he had done had almost cost a hundred children their lives.

Suddenly, his pain lessened. A sweet scent reached his nose.

_Focus. Focus!_ He told himself. _Focus on that scent._

His head cleared. The pain didn't vanish, but it was a mere dull ache in the background. The next thing he noticed was that it was warm. The husky strained, but his body felt like it was filled with molten iron. He finally managed to crack one eye open. His vision was hazy, but it soon cleared. He was in some sort of cave, with his back touching one wall. Much to his body's protest, he turned his head. The spot next to him was warm, and the scent of another dog clung to the shallow depression in the ground. The scent, he noticed, was the same one that had trickled into his nose and kept him alive. He turned his eye to examine his body. He was practically covered in cobwebs. But they weren't set like spiders had settled on him. They were, on the contrary, smoothed down in a somewhat orderly fashion. The husky was sure that if he looked in a puddle, he would hardly be able to see any of the black fur on his back or face.

The husky strained, and heaved himself to unsteady feet. He immediately felt dizzy and leaned against the cave wall. His vision tilted alarmingly.

His ears swiveled. Someone was singing. It was a female voice, and calmed the husky. The song was… beautiful. It swayed back and forth from a lullaby and a defiance song. The husky, with his shoulder and half of his weight on the wall, walked towards a sliver of light that he assumed was the entrance.

Outside, the crisp air woke him up. It was nighttime, and a full moon shone above him. And in front of it, the sky was alight with brilliant dancing sheets of light. The colors shifted and moved like a sideways delta.

A few yards in front of him, an outcropping of rock jutted out of the ground. On the stone, a dog was silhouetted against the lights and the moon, singing and giving off a scent sweeter than Jenna's.

* * *

The man buried his face in his hands.

"I need to find him!" The man cried. "Balto may have been the one to have brought me back and saved my life, but Steele is still be top sled dog!"

The man's wife rubbed his shoulders.

"Don't worry, he'll come back." She assured him. "If any dog can take care of itself, than it will be Steele."

"But it's the middle of winter! He's been wandering for over five months now!"

"Steele can take care of himself; you know that as well as anyone. You trained him."

"But why would he have left? He had everything here! Food, shelter, a loving home. I even saw him the hour before the medicine arrived. What could have been the reason?"

Outside, a brown-grey dog strained his ear to hear the rest of the conversation. But the humans had lowered their voices, and the male seemed to have calmed down, even though he was still upset. The dog turned to his red-furred husky companion.

"I had no idea that they would be so upset." The dog said.

"Steeled left because of the consequences of his own actions, Balto." The husky replied.

"But my return caused Steele's friends to drive him out, Jenna." Balto replied.

"Do you regret returning with the medicine?" Jenna asked.

"N… no, of course not." Balto said.

The hybrid buried his nose into Jenna's scruff. She licked his ear. But behind Balto's mask, his insides twisted with guilt.


	3. Achyuta

Okay, I just adore this song, and I couldn't think of any other song better for this moment. I'm either a genius or insane.

* * *

Steele was transfixed. The dog on the outcrop had its head raised, though Steele couldn't figure out if it was to the aurora or to the moon.

-

_Angel of darkness_

_Angel of darkness_

_The world is in your hand_

_But I will fight until the end_

_-_

_Angel of darkness_

_Angel of darkness_

_They'll follow your command_

_But I will fight and I will stand_

-

When darkness falls

Pain is all

The angel of darkness

Will leave behind

I will fight

_-_

_The love is lost _

_Beauty and light_

_Have vanish from _

_Garden of Delight_

_-_

_The dreams are gone_

_The night has come_

_The darkness is our new kingdom_

_-_

_Angel of darkness_

_Angel of darkness_

_The world is in your hand_

_But I will fight until the end_

_-_

_Angel of darkness_

_Angel of darkness_

_They'll follow your command_

_But I will fight and I will stand_

-

Hunt goes on

Deep in the night

Time to pray

Down on your knees

You can't hide from the

Eternal light

Until my last breath I will fight (I will fight (I will fight))

_-_

_Now realize_

_The stars they die_

_Darkness has _

_Fallen in paradise_

_-_

_But we'll be strong_

_And we will fight_

_Against the creatures _

_Of the night_

_-_

_Angel of darkness_

_Angel of darkness_

_The world is in your hand_

_But I will fight until the end_

_-_

_Angel of darkness_

_Angel of darkness_

_They'll follow your command_

_But I will fight and I will stand_

Angle of Darkness, Yasmin K. and Alex C.

Steele released the breath that he hadn't realized that he had been holding. The remnants of the final note still rung from the trees that surrounded the clearing, even the wolf's mouth was closed. Steele leaned against a fallen tree, and a small whine escaped his throat. The stranger's head whipped around, and Steele saw amber eyes. The dog bounded off the rock with incredible –almost unreal- grace and ease. Now that it was no longer a black form against light, Steele could see much more clearly. It was undoubtedly female, but her scent was like no other Steele had ever sensed, nor was her presence. She radiated confidence, and Steele knew immediately that this dog was used to being alpha, just like Steele was.

Her pelt was the most unusual that Steele had ever seen. He had seen other gray dogs before, like Balto's brownish-grey fur, and a few others. But this dog's fur wasn't just gray, it was _silver_. Steele's master's wife had a ring made of silver, but it was no match for this creature that shimmered and sparkled even when she was in shadow.

But it was her eyes that caught Steele's attention the most. They were amber, as were most dogs, but the pupils were slits, like cat's eyes.

The dog looked Steele up and down, eyes lingering on the cobweb bandages.

"You're awake," she said.

"Um… I… am," Steele replied.

Steele found himself without words for the first time in his life. He groped around in his brain for a proper way to introduce himself, but found none. The female saw his discomfort and dilemma, and amended it with four words.

"My name is Achyuta," the silver dog said. "Yours?"

"Steele," Steele replied with relief.

Steele winced as he felt pain dashed his chest, and saw the cobwebs there turn red. Achyuta saw it too.

"Jishnu," Achyuta said.

Steele blinked as another dog appeared from the shadows. This one was a mix of grey and brown, and Steele knew immediately that this lean dog was meant to run.

"Jishnu, take… Steele… back to the cave, then gather Chapal, Kanan, Rajani, and Vasuman, and tell them that we're going to hunt. Have Conall keep an eye on our guest until we return."

The male, Jishnu, nodded his head. He seemed to teleport from where he was standing to beside Steele, lending his shoulder. Steele was uncertain about trusting his weight to a stranger, but a sudden spell of dizziness did not give him a choice. Steele leaned against Jishnu and made is way back to the cave. As the moonlight disappeared, he felt the burning gaze of Achyuta on his back.

* * *

Please R&R! I love my reviews and reviewers!


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